Tuesday Tip! Cleaning Your Iron

I recently noticed my wonderful Rowenta iron was in need of a good clean….

While I do try to treat this iron well & I don’t purposefully get it gunky, over the years there’s been a build up of wonder under residue, some t-shirt quilt adventures, and starch (I *really* love my starch!).

I’ve tried the various frugal methods out there to include: windex (that was so bad I actually thought I might have ruined the iron!) and the dryer softener sheets (made it worse & then I had more gunk to wipe off), but none really cleaned the iron plate.

I decided to actually buy an iron cleaner from the store (gasp! I typically don’t buy things like this!) & after balking at the price (over $7 in my part of the country!) I was able to find it (specifically “Dritz Iron-Off Hot Iron Cleaner) at a box craft store where I could use a coupon.

I was hesitant (had I just bought another chemical that wouldn’t do anything?), but in the end it worked so well, I can’t believe I spent all that time with the other methods.

The directions were easy:
1. Turn off steam & set iron to High heat
2. Put a dollop of the iron cleaner on a rag (I used an old towel)
3. Iron over the goo on the towel in a circular motion, until all the goo has been ironed into the towel
4. Check the iron to see if you need to repeat the process

Now my iron was really bad, so I had to do this about 3 times, but wow did it come out all nice & shiny! It now literally glides over the fabric!!

In the end I want to say this tip isn’t about this particular brand of iron cleaner- I just wanted to share how well it worked for me. It doesn’t actually matter how you clean your iron (I’d be sure to check with your manufacturer first about their recommended cleaning processes though) just that you keep your iron clean so it will last & not damage or leave marks on your projects.

There are many ways to clean an iron out there, I’d love to hear what’s worked for you!